Fumihiro KABUTA, Ph.D.
Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan
The following is the translation of section 7 of “Agriculture Competitiveness Reinforcement Program” which was approved by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Regions Vitalization ..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Japanese Sake (rice wine) is the traditional Japanese beverage made from rice. It is considered as one of the most popular beverages in Japanese food culture. It is now enjoyed all over the world because of its goo..

Yukihisa Yamada
Norinchukin Research Institute Co.,Ltd.
ABSTRACT
In the context of recent high economic growth in Asian countries, agrarian structure has also been drastically transforming. Agricultural development has been mainly led by increase of production. Nowadays, however, farmers&rsquo..

Noriaki KAWASAKI
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University
ABSTRACT
The Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), is going through a time of massive reforms toward more business-oriented operations in response to changes in food consumption trend. But innovative farmers and the JAs have no..

Hisako Nomura
Kyushu University, Faculty of Agriculture
INTRODUCTION​​​​​​
The original “Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Regions Vitalization Creation Plan” (hereinafter referred to as the “Vitalization Plan”) was set out with its ultimate objective..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Rice is a staple food in Japan. Consumers are sensitive about the variety of rice, its location, and time of harvest, when they are purchasing rice or foods containing rice from a retailer or if they are dining at a restaur..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Japan's agricultural structure is changing from small farm sizes to relatively larger one. The 2015 World Census of Agriculture published in 2016 shows that the number of agriculture management entities[1] ..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Gene recombination technology has generated both expectation and anxiety among its many followers. On the one hand, this new technology demonstrates a potential for increasing agricultural productivity. On the other hand, i..

Yoshihisa Godo
Meiji Gakuin University
Takashi Miyairi
Hokkai-Gakuen University
Introduction
Hokkaido is the northernmost prefecture in Japan, agriculture being one of its main industries. Unlike the other 46 prefectures, large-size farming is dominant in Hokkaido. Many farms here suf..

Yoshikai Iiguni
Kuroshio Science Unit, Multidisciplinary Cluster, Kochi University
Introduction
The Information Disclosure System of Farmlands (the ordinary name is National wide Navigation) for Farmlands, began operation from April in 2015. The purpose of this system is to disclose informati..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The provision of clean and safe water is one of the most basic public services offered by local governments. One of the major concerns of local governments during Japan's era of high economic growth in the 1970s is rela..

Masaharu Endo
Patent Attorney,
Hiraki & Associates,
Manager of Bio-tech and Chemistry Group,
Japan
ABSTRACT
In Japan, a lot of agricultural producers are eager to develop new varieties of food and foliage plants. Several tools are available in Japan for protecting intellectual proper..

Akihiko Okuno
Managing Partner, SK IP Law Firm,
Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
ABSTRACT
Japan seems to be doing successfully in terms of intellectual property (IP) protection and commercialization of innovation in the field of IT, electronics, machinery and chemistry, but not so successful in ..

Hisako Nomura
Lecturer
Faculty of Agriculture
Kyushu University
6-10-1, Hakozaki-ku
Fukuoka 812-8581
Japan
The agriculture and rural areas have a variety of functions (multifunction) such as prevention of floods and landslides, conservation of the natural environment,..

Hisako NOMURA
Lecturer
Faculty of Agriculture
Kyushu University, Japan
Point of measures
In order to maintain and give the full scope of the multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas, we support joint activities of the region, agricultural production activities in the mountainous region..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The Cooperative Farm Extension Service (CFES)[1] in Japan has engaged in the guidance and extension of new agronomy technology on farmers after WWII. The central and prefectural governments have jointly manag..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University,
Japan
INTRODUCTION
In developed countries, many food processing companies and farms employ unskilled foreign laborers, whose wages are lower than domestic laborers. Japan is not an exception. However, unlike other developed countries in Eu..

Mari IZUMI
Visiting Researcher
JC General Research Institute, Japan
Explanatory note by the translator：
This document is the first of three chapters of the latest Guideline on Food Security under the State of Emergency, revised in 0ctober 2015. The guideline was originally d..

Futoshi Okada1
1 College of Commerce Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
okada.futoshi@nihon-u.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
A famous insurance professional said, “Insurance is the first choice and the last choice.” The axiom means that we cannot get any protection without buying insur..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The Japan Agricultural Cooperative (JA) group has played a pivotal role in Japan’s agriculture while it has been criticized as the main factor which prevents the fundamental reform of agricultural str..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Rice has occupied the position of national food for a long time in Japan, and the Japanese has taken the large part of their carbohydrates from it. Rice has been utilized for human consumption, a..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
It is important for stabilizing rice farmer’s management to maintain the order of markets and to expand stable dealings between farmer’s organizations which engage in shipping rice and distribut..

Takayuki KIMURA
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
Akihiko HIRASAWA
Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Operation of pension fund
The pension fund for farmers who are paying contributions or waiting for the inception of benefits after they t..

Takayuki KIMURA
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
Akihiko HIRASAWA
Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Preferential tax treatment
In the case of income tax or inhabitant tax, the rates of taxes are determined depending on the amount of taxa..

Takayuki Kimura
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
Akihiko HIRASAWA
Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Subsidy to Retiring Farmers
Farmers who are going to retire can receive a subsidy from the government if they lend their farmlands to ICO..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
At the end of 2014 when many people bought and enjoyed sweet cakes made of raw milk for the Christmas, the shortage of dairy products, especially butter, became a hot topic in Japan. Consumers could not fin..

Yoshihisa Godo and Hiroshi Takahashi [1]
[1] We would like to thank Mr. Akira Shiratake for English language editing.
Introduction
On October 5, 2015, the 12 countries participating in the on-going Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations r..

Takumi Sakuyama
Associate Professor of Trade Policy, Meiji University
Explanatory Note for Translation
The following is the full translation of “Countermeasures against the TPP in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Sector”, formulated in response to the agreement in principle..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Consolidation of farmlands into Ninaite[1] is important challenge for Japanese agriculture, because it can contribute to the improvement of competitiveness of Japanese agriculture in the international marke..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is one of the of the greatest food safety concerns among Japanese consumers. The outbreak of BSE-infected cows in September 2001 in Japan awakened consumers’ anxiety abou..

Fumihiro Kabuta, Ph.D.
Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan
II. Introduction of a new index for food self-sufficiency potential
With unstable elements impacting global food supply and demand, public opinion polls show that a large percentage of ..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japanese agricultural cooperatives serve important functions in the rural community. In addition to agricultural services, they provide several services required in daily life, such as banking and arrange..

Dr. Hisako NOMURA
Lecturer
Faculty of Agriculture
Kyushu University
6-10-1, Hakozaki, Higashi-ku,
Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
Based on the outcomes of the COP 10, the MAFF reviews the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Biodiversity Strategy (established in July 2007), and p..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
The Japanese government provides various forms of legal support for agricultural cooperatives. One of the most substantial considerations is the special treatment in the anti-monopoly policy, whereby agricultural co..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japan has a strict traceability system for beef products. Using a unique identification number labeled on a beef product, consumers can get detailed information on the beef cow from which the beef product..

Mari Izumi
Visiting Researcher
JC General Research Insitute
This article translated from Japanese to English the final report of the committee for the development of active rural areas which was submitted to the Japanese government Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisher..

Dr. Yoshihisa Godo*
Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
E-mail: godo@eco.meijigakuin.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
Japan has a unique system of agricultural cooperatives, known as JA. This study presents the updated estimates of JA’s share in the agricultural input and outp..

Hiroshi Takahashi, Journalist
Bridge International Inc
1F., 1-10-1, Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 102-0072 Japan
Email: Biitokyo@yahoo.co.jp
ABSTRACT
The livestock producers in Japan continued to be exposed to the wave of the free trade such as TPP (Trans-Pacific Partn..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
The Japanese tax system employs a general indirect tax known as the Consumption Tax (CT). Currently, a CT of 8% is charged in the sale of all commodities and services. However, the CT rate is scheduled to increase t..

Dr. Yoshiaki Iiguni
Professor
Multidisciplinary Cluster, Kuroshio Science
Kochi University
2-5-1, Akebono-cho, 780-8520 Kochi
Japan
During the Great East Japan Earthquake, atomic power generation has been destroyed by Tsunami and lots of radioactive substances have been spread over ..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The system of agricultural cooperatives, known as the JA Group, plays a pivotal role in the structure and economics of Japan’s agricultural sector1 Although there is no legal requirement to join the JA Group, ..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
For years, food nutrition labeling had not been compulsory in Japan. In response to consumers’ increasing concerns about food safety, however, the Japanese government, which many perceive as the slowest among ..

Dr. Masayoshi Honma
Dept. of Agricultural and Resource Economics
The University of Tokyo, Japnan
Last September 15 and 16 Japanese Professor Masayoshi Honma, a world famous agricultural economist, delivered his lecture on the “Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Under the Abe Admini..

Yoshihisa Godo,
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
(A subsidy program for protecting livestock farmers from a sharp rise in feeding costs:)
1. Introduction
Japan does not have an advantage in the production of feeding crops because of its ..

Yoshiaki Iiguni
Multidisciplinary Cluster, Kuroshio Science, Kochi University
Introduction
This is the English translation of the second half of a pamphlet entitled “New Policy for Agriculture and Rural Areas is beginning!! : 4 reforms ” issued by the government..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Farmers are exposed to the risk of injury from the misuse of agricultural machinery and occupational diseases such as poisoning from agricultural chemicals. In addition, the percentage of the aged, who ..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
The Japanese government has various food labeling systems. One of the most popular is the JAS Mark system. This system was launched in 1950 when the Act on Standardization and Proper Quality Labeling of A..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japan’s unique system of agricultural cooperatives forms a nationwide network, called the JA Group. This mammoth economic body organizes almost all Japanese farmers and has played a key role in shap..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japan’s food labeling policy is at a crossroads. Since its enactment in 1950, the Act on Standardization and Proper Labeling of Agricultural and Forest Products, commonly known as the JAS Act, has b..

Yoshihisa Godo,
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japan has a unique system of group farming, called the Agricultural Producers’ Cooperative Corporation (APCC). In 1962, the government established this system as part of its agricultural policy ref..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The larger idle farmlands have increased, the more strongly it has been insisted that the function of the Agricultural Committee (AC) should be strengthened as “a guardian of farmland&rdquo..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The idle farmland[1] problem is one of the most significant policy matters in Japanese agricultural policy. The increase in idle farmlands makes difficult to achieve the target of food self-suffi..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Japanese food self-sufficiency ratio on a calorie basis is 39% in FY2012. This value is one of the lowest figures recorded for developed countries. This situation is caused from the increase in i..

Part 2
Mitsuaki Shindo,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,
Regional Policy Planning Division
Product Specific Policies
(1) Rice
(a) Current situation
Demand for rice for table use has been shrinking due to chan..

Dr. Takayuki Kimura
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
Dr. Akihiko HIRASAWA
Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd.
In Japan, as the aging of farmers becomes serious, those who retire from farm management have been increasing. On th..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
The mislabeling of food became a prominent news story in 2013, as Japanese newspapers revealed that even high-end restaurants and department stores were guilty of selling mislabeled food. ..

Shin-ichi Shogenji
Professor, Nagoya University, Japan
The following is a lecture paper presented and delivered by Dr. Shin-ichi Shogenji, a Professor at the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University in Japan. Professor Shog..

Mitsuaki Shindo,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,
Regional Policy Planning Division
2. Japan-Australia EPA negotiations
The EPA negotiations with Australia, which started in 2007, was perceived to have a huge impact on Japan’s agriculture. Th..

Shunsuke Yanagimura1
1Resaeach Faculty of Agriculture,
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
e-mail: yngmr@agecon.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
One of the most serious problems Japanese agriculture have is the shortage of the number of farm business entities. T..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Rice is the staple food in Japan. Thus, the Japanese government is paying special attention to rice contamination by cesium after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident of March 2011. This article aims to ..

Takayuki KIMURA
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
Akihiko HIRASAWA
Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd.
The Farmer’s Pension System (FPS) in Japan is a public pension system which provides the additional pension on top of the Na..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
The Japanese government promotes to expand export of agricultural products and foods as a way of enhancing international competitiveness of Japanese agriculture and the strategy of national econo..

Yoshihisa Godo,
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced an unforgettable disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which involved the wide-spread of radioactive materials. On March 17, 2011, the Ministry of Health, ..

Dr. Takumi Sakuyama
Associate Professor, Meiji University
Explanatory Note for Translation
The Vitality Creation Headquarters of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Regions was established on 21st May 2013, with the participation of the Prime Minister as chairman, the Chie..

Yoshihisa Godo,
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
There are nearly 60,000 breeders of beef cattle in Japan1. They play an essential role in the meat industry and create important job opportunities in rural areas. Most cattle breeders are small-sized family f..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Although Japan is the third largest beef importing country in the world (US Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Traders), with imports accounting for nearly 60% of domestic..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
We translated a pamphlet, “New Policy for Agriculture and Rural Areas is beginning!!”, Previously, we translated pages 1-5. This time, we have translated pages 6-11.
..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japan has a unique network of agricultural cooperatives called JA. The name comes from the combination of “Japan” and “Agriculture”1. JA is engaged in various economic and politica..

The Situation and Problems of Japan’s Wholesale Market
Mari Izumi
Japan-Cooperative General Research Institute
Explanatory Note for Translation
This report describes the situation and problems of Japan’s wholesale market. The report was..

Kunio Nishikawa
College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, Japan
INTRODUCTION
In December 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party won the 46th Japanese general election and President Shinzo Abe became the Prime Minister again. The second Abe Shinzo cabinet had been reviewing ex..

Fumihiro Kabuta, Ph.D.
Policy Research Coordinator, Policy Research Institute
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan
INTRODUCTION
Agricultural Disaster Compensation System shall be a public insurance system that has been implemented as the Government ..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Introduction
Japan is one of the major nations in the global pork industry. Worldwide, Japan is ranked sixth in pork consumption, ninth in pork production, and first in pork imports (note 1). Domestic production contr..

Ronald G. Mangubat
Information Officer of FFTC
Farmers at the Hikone Shiga Prefecture in Japan are becoming popular because they use the smartphone apps to help monitor crops and control production costs while the rapid aging farmer population continues to dwindle.
Ac..

Community Order in Japanese Agriculture
Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Community order and free-market competition
Japanese agriculture is not sustainable without community order. To understand the importance of community order, it is useful to..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
In Japan, the Agricultural Commission is a unique administrative organization system that manages various agricultural land issues at the local level. In spite of its importance, only a few English-language studies have d..

Yutsai Huang, Ph.D.
Director, Food and Fertilizer Technology Center
School lunches were extended to all elementary schools in Japan in 1952, and with the enactment of the school lunch law, to junior high schools in 1954. Today, 99% of elementary school students and 82% of junio..

Chan-Ik Chun
Agricultural Economist of FFTC
The Japanese government said on November 26 it will terminate the decades-old “gentan (減反)” rice production adjustment system (rice production quota system) as early as fiscal 2018. Japan has begun the policy since 197..

Yutsai Huang
Director, Food and Fertilizer Center (FFTC)
Rice policy has been, and still is, the core policy of Japanese agriculture. Rice industry is highly protected by the Japanese government. In order to secure sustainability and create an environment where all motivated fa..

Yoshihisa GODO
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Rice, being a staple food of the Japanese, is the most important crop in Japan’s agricultural sector. This paper describes the history of Japanese rice policy after the Pacific War up to the present times (note 1).
..

Toshiyuki Kako
Kibi International University
e-mail: kako@kobe-u.ac.jp
ABSTRACT
Japan has been pushing forward trade liberalization, and the country’s average tariff rate is at 4.9%, which is low by international standard. Agricultural imports increased rapidly wi..

Akihiko Hirasawa
Norinchukin Research Institute co., ltd
1-1-12, Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-0047 Japan
e-mail: akihiko@nochuri.co.jp
ABSTRACT
Land resource endowment, which is similar among monsoon Asian countries, and income levels are the main causes of u..

Yoshihisa GODO
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Japan is a mountainous country, with only 33% of its total land acreage as flat area. Japan’s flat land area is much smaller than that of other, major developed countries such as the United States with 70% ..

Yoshihisa GODO
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
1. Definition of “agricultural labor force”
In Japan, agricultural laborers are classified in one of the following two ways: “population mainly engaged in farming” and &ldquo..

Yoshihisa Godo
Professor, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
1. Definition of a farm household
A farm household is a typical unit of farming in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) defines a farm househ..